There have been a number of shut finishes in Method 1 historical past involving two vehicles racing, or as was the case for Ferrari on the 2002 US Grand Prix, placing on a show of ‘racing’ in the direction of the road. The margin of victory for Rubens Barrichello that day, on a botched try at making a lifeless warmth, was simply 0.011s in favour of the Brazilian over team-mate Michael Schumacher.
However events when the main three vehicles are line astern on the end are altogether rarer. George Russell’s on-the-road win at Spa, later handed to Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton after his automobile was discovered to be underweight, was all of the extra spectacular as Oscar Piastri loomed giant of their mirrors.
Right here we glance over just a few situations in F1 historical past the place the highest three had been even nearer nonetheless.
5. Monaco GP 2012
Mark Webber, Purple Bull RB8 Renault.
Picture by: Rainer W. Schlegelmilch / Motorsport Images
1. Mark Webber, Purple Bull
2. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes (+0.643s)
3. Fernando Alonso, Ferrari (+0.947s)
The 2012 Monaco Grand Prix is usually remembered for Michael Schumacher’s quickest time in qualifying, which to this present day would nonetheless make him the oldest polesitter since 1970, hadn’t the 43-year-old served a five-place grid penalty for colliding with Bruno Senna within the earlier spherical.
As a consequence, Purple Bull’s Mark Webber began in pole place forward of Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg and McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, whereas championship chief Fernando Alonso was fifth and title contender Sebastian Vettel down in ninth.
The security automobile neutralised the race early on following a number of first-lap contacts ending the races of three drivers together with Romain Grosjean, who had began fourth. Webber nonetheless led from Rosberg and Hamilton, with Alonso now as much as fourth and Vettel sixth.
On lap 26, Webber held a 1.8s hole on Rosberg, with Hamilton, Alonso and Felipe Massa respectively 6.6s, 7.4s and 9.5s away from the lead.
All of them made their solely pitstop within the subsequent 5 laps, with Vettel electing to remain on observe to benefit from the clear observe and free air whereas hoping for a rain bathe to make his gamble jackpot-worthy. The reigning double world champion ultimately modified tyres on lap 46 and rejoined in fourth, now simply solely 3.5s off first place, behind chief Webber, Rosberg and Alonso; accomplished by Hamilton and Massa, the highest 6 was lined by 5.3s.
Some scarce drops of rain did materialise ultimately, round ten laps earlier than the tip of the race, however solely Jean-Eric Vergne gambled on intermediates, which value him a probable seventh-place end.
In the meantime, the battle for victory and podium grew to become nearer than it ever was, however the order did not change and Webber took the win from Rosberg and Alonso. Vettel’s fourth meant the highest 4 was lined by 1.343s.
4. Abu Dhabi GP 2016
Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W07 Hybrid, crosses the road and takes the chequered flag to win the race from Nico Rosberg, Mercedes F1 W07 Hybrid, Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari SF16-H, and Max Verstappen, Purple Bull Racing RB12
Picture by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes (+0.439s)
3. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari (+0.843s)
The stakes had been excessive on the title-deciding 2016 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, with Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg main team-mate Lewis Hamilton by 12 factors however the Briton grabbing pole place forward of his rival.
Hamilton stored the lead initially, with Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen passing Purple Bull’s Daniel Ricciardo for third. Then a three-time world champion, Hamilton knew successful was not sufficient: he wanted Rosberg to complete fourth at finest to say the title.
Hamilton managed to drag a 5.6s hole on Rosberg by lap 20 because the German was caught behind Max Verstappen’s Purple Bull for a while after his first pitstop, however Rosberg remained a snug second, so Hamilton determined to lose just a few tenths a lap so as to again his team-mate into the pack.
As a consequence, on the finish of lap 49 of 55, Rosberg was 0.9s off Hamilton whereas main Verstappen by 1.5s and Vettel by 2.1s. The Ferrari driver had a lot brisker tyres and shortly overtook the Purple Bull for third.
Although Mercedes was urging him to choose up the tempo, Hamilton slowed down extra dramatically on the finish of the race, going from 1m45.9s on lap 53 to 1.46.3s and eventually 1.47.2s, but it surely didn’t suffice for the title.
The Englishman took the chequered flag 4 tenths forward of Rosberg, main Vettel by eight, whereas Verstappen was an additional eight tenths again. Rosberg received his single world championship and introduced his retirement from Method 1 simply 5 days later.
3. Spanish GP 1981
Villeneuve’s sixth and final GP win got here beneath large stress
Picture by: LAT Photographic
1. Gilles Villeneuve, Ferrari
2. Jacques Laffite, Ligier (+0.211s)
3. John Watson, McLaren (+0.571s)
Jacques Laffite could have been solely fifth within the drivers’ standings coming into the 1981 Spanish Grand Prix, however he achieved the seventh and final pole place of his profession on the twisty Jarama observe, with each Williams proper behind him – pushed by Alan Jones and championship chief Carlos Reutemann.
Because of the late June warmth, the race came about at 4pm. Laffite received a dismal getaway and dropped to eleventh, with Jones and Reutemann taking the lead whereas Ferrari’s Gilles Villeneuve jumped from seventh to 3rd earlier than overtaking Reutemann on the following lap.
Jones was in a category of his personal and was 10.4s away from Villeneuve after 13 laps, however the reigning world champion then went off, dropping 15 locations and almost 55 seconds within the course of.
New chief Villeneuve had a quick automobile on straights however gradual in corners, with Reutemann carefully tucked behind the Ferrari however unable to make a transfer. Now in third, Renault’s Alain Prost introduced the hole down from 9.6s to three.9s in 14 laps, however he misjudged a braking level, went off and needed to retire.
At that stage, Villeneuve and Reutemann led John Watson and Laffite by over 12 seconds, with the Frenchman having fought his means again into the highest 5 and overtaking the McLaren driver on lap 49.
Laffite caught up with the leaders on lap 60 and was swift to overhaul Reutemann, who dropped to fourth behind Watson. Villeneuve’s Ferrari was unassailable, and the Quebecois took his sixth and final grand prix win from Laffite, Watson, Reutemann and Lotus’ Elio de Angelis: 5 completely different constructors in a high 5 lined by 1.24s.
2. Italian GP 1969
Jackie Stewart, Matra MS80
Picture by: David Phipps
1. Jackie Stewart, Matra
2. Jochen Rindt, Lotus (+0.08s)
3. Jean-Pierre Beltoise, Matra (+0.17s)
As soon as upon a time, Monza was a observe bereft of any chicanes. Simply think about what the temple of velocity was like again then, as a result of it actually explains why the Italian circuit luggage the primary two positions right here.
The 1969 Italian Grand Prix came about with little suspense remaining within the title race, as Matra’s Jackie Stewart led the way in which with 51 factors – greater than twice his closest challenger Jacky Ickx’s 22, with 4 rounds to go. Stewart had a primary alternative for a maiden crown that weekend in Lombardy.
The Scot was solely third on the grid, outqualified by Lotus’s Jochen Rindt and McLaren’s Denny Hulme. But, he made his solution to the entrance as early as the primary lap, however was not capable of draw back.
The slipstream phenomenon, which was a lot stronger than at some other observe, meant that the lead modified fingers 15 instances within the first 38 laps – the order being recorded on the finish of every lap solely, so there could have been extra switches – with Stewart, Rindt, Hulme and Piers Braveness buying and selling first place.
Additional on, Stewart largely stored the lead whereas Hulme was out of rivalry attributable to brake points, however the Matra driver was nonetheless adopted carefully by one other 5 vehicles: team-mate Jean-Pierre Beltoise, the Lotuses of Rindt and Graham Hill, Braveness’s Brabham and Bruce McLaren driving his personal equipment. Stewart would typically let Rindt or Hill into the lead within the Lesmos earlier than repassing them on the following straight.
Hill stored pressuring Stewart forward of third-placed Braveness, however the latter’s Brabham suffered a gas system problem and dropped out of rivalry. Then Hill retired attributable to a driveshaft failure on his Lotus, leaving Stewart with simply 4 rivals.
Rindt took the lead once more within the Lesmos on the final lap, however Stewart was again in entrance by what’s now often known as Variante Ascari, which was then only a kink. Beltoise dived down the within of the final nook, Parabolica, however ran large and hindered Rindt. Stewart managed to cross the end line each a winner and a world champion, main these two and McLaren… all 4 lined by fewer than two tenths of a second.
1. Italian GP 1971
Peter Gethin, BRM P160 beats Ronnie Peterson, March 711 Ford throughout the end line within the closest end in an F1 race at 0.01 seconds.
Picture by: LAT Photographic
1. Peter Gethin, BRM
2. Ronnie Peterson, March (+0.01s)
3. Francois Cevert, Tyrrell (+0.09s)
This time round, Tyrrell’s Stewart was already the world champion coming into the Monza spherical, having been topped within the previous race at Osterreichring – an older model of Purple Bull Ring.
Matra’s Chris Amon took pole with a outstanding 1m22.40s – over 251km/h on common because of the slipstream – forward of Ickx on Ferrari, adopted by BRM’s Siffert and Howden Ganley.
Sunday’s race was much more frantic than two years prior, with not less than eight completely different race leaders – amongst whom Ferrari’s Clay Regazzoni and Stewart can be struck by engine failures on a scorching afternoon, whereas Siffert would get caught in fourth gear.
Ten laps earlier than the tip of the race, Amon was within the lead, however the New Zealander mistakenly eliminated his two visors as an alternative of simply the soiled one and needed to decelerate.
It was now a five-way battle involving Peterson, Cevert, Ganley, Mike Hailwood on Surtees, and Peter Gethin, who had began simply eleventh however had fought his solution to the entrance of the pack. Extremely, all 5 of them had been but to win a grand prix.
Gethin took the lead for the primary time on lap 52 of 55, earlier than being repassed two excursions later by Peterson, who led from Cevert, Hailwood, Gethin and Ganley when beginning the final 5.75km of the Monza observe.
Cevert had taken the lead earlier than the final nook, the place Peterson overtook him on braking, however Gethin had a greater exit and went on to win by a hundredth of a second, with the highest 5 lined by 0.061s. This was the final we noticed of the chicane-free Monza.
